Struggling To Improve Your English? 7 Proven Ways to Finally Boost Your Fluency

Have you been learning English for a while now? Are you wanting to improve but finding you’re not making the progress you’d like?

Here are some tips that will help.

Student learning English

1. Podcasts. Listen to a podcast. Choose about three topics you enjoy, whether that is business, current news or travel. Then, set a definite day and time each week to listen to it. You don’t need to listen to a whole episode in one sitting. If you have scheduled just 15 minutes per week for a podcast, that is okay. But be consistent and do it each week.

2. Movies and Shows. Are you struggling to watch movies or series without subtitles on? Our suggestion is to choose a show you have watched before. It should be one you really enjoyed and don’t mind watching again. Watch it with the subtitles off this time. Because you already know the movie, you will be able to pay attention to what is being said without feeling you are missing the entire plot line with the subtitles switched off. This will take patience but is a good way to boost a key language skill – listening.

3. Radio and Online Radio. Listen to an English radio station three times a week for at least 15 minutes each time. You can tune in for the news which is usually read out every hour. This way you will kill two birds with one stone – improve listening and stay informed. There are many websites that permit you to listen to radio stations around the world.

As we mentioned before, consistency is important and doing this at least three times a week along with a podcast will greatly improve your listening ability in the long run.

4. Grammar Awareness. Know your weaknesses. For example, if you are having trouble with using the past tense correctly, brush up on it by doing a 5 – 10 minute online exercise. Practice saying the sentences out loud and correctly. Try to come up with some sentences of your own using the tenses correctly, at least 3 – 5 sentences. Repeat a similar exercise three to five times a week.

An experienced tutor can greatly assist you in giving feedback on where grammar can be improved. Why not book a lesson through SpeakAnglo with one of our experienced and supportive TEFL certified teachers? We’d love to help you!

5. Reading out loud. We know, not everyone enjoys doing this. But it has benefits. Reading text that is grammatically correct helps you to internalise the grammatical structures. That will in turn assist you with remembering correct word order when speaking.

This is a simple way to gain fluency and confidence. It can also be valuable to get feedback from a native speaker who can pinpoint areas for improvement and help you achieve your goals. You can book a lesson through SpeakAnglo here.

6. Immerse Yourself in English. Use every opportunity to speak. If you are living in a country where English is spoken widely, make small talk whenever you can.

If you’re not in a situation where you can speak English naturally, here is something you can do right now. Record yourself answering simple questions and listen to the playback. This will give you an idea of where you’re at with your English speaking. If you’re aware of where the errors are, try to correct them.

7. English classes. Take English Conversation classes with an English tutor.

Guided conversation lessons have helped many people improve their speaking fluency, grammar and listening skills. It will also boost your confidence for when you need to use English in real life, such as at work for meetings and presentations.

For lessons, you can book one of our SpeakAnglo bundled lessons of ten or twenty lessons. Or if you just want one lesson, you can simply book one to give it a try.

Whatever you do, keep practising English!

As the saying goes, ‘practice makes perfect’.

Book English Lessons

Vocabulary

Consistency

(noun)

Meaning: To do something constantly over time andhave it as a habit.

Example: 'I conssitently studied English and saw good results over a few months.'

Brush up on

(phrasal verb)

Meaning: To improve or refresh one's knowledge in a subject or skill.

Example: The teacher suggested that we brush up on our grammar before the test.'

Internalise

(verb)

Meaning: To absorb a behaviour or knowledge so deeply that it becomes part of our thinking.

Example: 'It took her a few months to interalise the company's safety policies.'

Pinpoint

(verb)

Meaning: To find or identify something precisely.

Example: 'The CEO pinpointed a few issues that needed to be sorted out.'

Kill two birds with one stone

(idiom)

Meaning: To do two things at the same time.

Example: 'She killed two birds with one stone by learning Spanish while travelling.'